Guitar stars set to shine at Beatles Day

Pestalozzi students have been proudly participating in Beatles Day for four years now but their association with at least one member of the Fab Four goes back much further than that.

The Beatles Day event will be running from midday till 10.30pm on Sunday 12th April at The White Rock Theatre Hastings and tickets are £10.

This year the Pestalozzi guitar group embraces six different nationalities with students from Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Indonesia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Many of these young people had not picked up a guitar before arriving in the UK in August last year and their remarkable progress is due in no small part to their volunteer tutors Stewart and Louisa Patient. Once a week Stewart and Louisa travel over to Sedlescombe from their home in Pevensey to spend the evening teaching chords, technique and vocal harmony. Stewart notes "These young people are really inspirational, they work hard and they really want to learn. The time flies by!â

One of the students, Marshal Mugwagwa from Zimbabwe, said "I love music but I hadnât played a bass guitar before I came to Pestalozzi. Stewart and Louisa have really brought us all together with these Beatles songs.â Indonesian student Yanti Manurung added "I am looking forward to performing on the stage at the White Rock Theatre and helping to raise funds for Macmillan. I like Pestalozziâs ethos of educating the Head, Heart and Hands and actively supporting other charities and good causes is a big part of this.â

With young people from six very diverse countries singing two songs that couldnât be more English this really is going to be an international event.

Our association with the Fab Four goes back over three decades - Pestalozzi Childrenâs Choir provided backing vocals on the title track of Paul McCartneyâs 1983 album âPipes of Peaceâ.

Pestalozzi brings young people from nine different countries together in a multi-faith, multi-cultural community in Sedlescombe. These are academically gifted students who, because they come from poor economic backgrounds, would have little opportunity to continue their education in their home countries. Pestalozzi offers two year scholarships to them and as a charity itself is entirely dependent on voluntary donations.